flee in case they should wish it.  Anullinus after making all this out placed in advance the heavier part of his force and behind it his entire light-armed contingent, to the end that the latter, though discharging their weapons from a distance might still retard the progress of the enemy, while the solidity of the advance guard rendered the upward passage safe for them.  The cavalry he sent with Valerianus, bidding him, so far as he could, go around the forest and unexpectedly fall upon the troops of Niger from the rear.  When they came to close quarters, the soldiers of Sevents placed some of their shields in front of them and held some above their heads, making a testudo, and in this formation they approached the enemy.  So the battle was a drawn one for a long while, but eventually Niger’s men got decidedly the advantage both by their numbers and by the topography of the country.  They would have been entirely victorious, had not clouds gathered out of a clear sky and a wind arisen from a perfect calm, while there were crashes of thunder and sharp flashes of lightning and a violent rain beat in their faces.  This did not trouble Severus’s troops because it was behind them, but threw Niger’s men into great confusion since it came right against them.  Most important of all, the opportune character of this occurrence infused courage in the one side, which believed it was aided by Heaven, and fear in the other, which felt that the supernatural was warring against them; thus it made the former strong even beyond its own strength and terrified the latter in spite of real power.  Just as they were fleeing Valerianus came in sight.  Seeing him, they turned about, and after that, as Anullinus beat them back, retreated once more.  Then they wandered about, running this way and that way, to see where they could break through.

[Sidenote:—­8—­] It turned out that this was the greatest slaughter to take place during the war in question.  Two myriads of Niger’s followers perished utterly.  The fact was indicated also by the priest’s vision.  While Severus was in Pannonia, the priest of Jupiter saw in a vision a black man force his way into the emperor’s camps and meet his death by superior numbers.  And by turning the name of Niger into Greek people recognized that he was the one meant by the “black” person mentioned.  Directly Antioch had been captured (not long after) Niger fled from it, making the Euphrates his objective point, for he intended to seek refuge among the barbarians.  His pursuers, however, overtook him; he was taken and had his head struck off.  This head Severus sent to Byzantium and caused to be reared on a cross, that the sight of it might incline the Byzantines to his cause.  The next move of Severus was to mete out justice to those who had belonged to Niger’s party. [Of the cities and individuals he chastised some and rewarded others.  He executed no Roman senator, but deprived most of them of their property and confined them on islands.  He was